Former firefighter, police officer found guilty of defrauding first responders

Joseph “Mike” Amison, 43, was arrested Wednesday, more than 20 days after his wife Jennifer –a Tallahassee Police Department officer – was booked on charges of organized scheme to defraud, embezzlement and two counts of grand theft of $10,000 to $20,000.(Photo: Leon County Jail)

A Tallahassee firefighter and his police officer wife will be sentenced March 27 after being convicted of running a charity scheme that scammed emergency responders' families.

Joseph "Mike" Amison and his wife Jennifer Amison were found guilty by a Leon County jury Friday on a variety of theft and fraud charges, including racketeering, grand theft of more than $10,000 and organized scheme to defraud.

Jennifer Amison, a 41-year-old Tallahassee Police officer, was arrested in connection with a charity scam pledging money to the families of dead first responders. Warrants for her husband, 43-year-old Joseph Amison, have been issued but he has not surrendered.(Photo: Leon County Jail)

Investigators said the Amisons "demonstrated a pattern of taking advantage of the tragedies of other first responders by selling items under the guise of benefiting the families."

The investigation into the scheme began last year when the families of fallen firefighters reported to Tallahassee Police that no money from a fundraising event hosted by the Amisons on their behalf had been provided to them. The amount raised at the event was never disclosed, but investigators estimated conservatively that about $23,535 was brought in that night.

Leon County Sheriff's Office investigators found the Amisons routinely used false medical issues, including cancer treatments that Jennifer claimed to be undergoing, to delay conversations about the money from the fundraiser for TFD Capt. Brad Deanda, Firefighter Chris Thurman and Shelby Allen, a firefighter’s daughter killed in a car crash.

LCSO investigators also found the Amisons initiated two other charity efforts to help the families of two Texas State Troopers suffering from terminal brain cancer but did not give them the proceeds. Rather, the Amisons used charity and loans to supplement their incomes.